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Jazz Articles | Future
Dr. Cornel West: A Real-Life Superhero
This column focuses on the lives of people searching for and finding a human connection inspired by the life and music of the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane. Trane was a spiritual, gifted jazz musician dedicated to loving people through his heart which exquisitely came out of his instrument. I have come to discover that there are presently many people who are influenced by him even decades after his passing. This column will make an attempt at answering the question: “How ...
read moreAutumn 2017
Blues Deluxe is a regular column comprised of pithy takes on recent blues and roots-music releases of note as well as spotlights on those titles in the aforementioned genres that might otherwise go unnoticed under the cultural radar. Dennis Johnson Rhythmland Root Tone Records 2017 A complete musician to be sure, Johnson isn't so enamored of his technique that the plays on words in titles of his previous records deny the ...
read moreNika Project: Elusive
When Veronika Griesslehner opens her mouth, you can hear an impressive weight of experience to go with such a young voice. She doesn't try or claim to approach the worldly depths of an Ella Fitzgerald or a Nina Simone and doesn't have to--the similarities in sound here are impressionistic rather than imitative, but those classic divas have given her a few good cues nonetheless. Griesslehner's writing style hints at the old-fashioned swing of the Great American Songbook with a contemporary ...
read moreJulian Costello: Transitions
Saxophonist Julian Costello has been around the UK jazz scene for a while, but for some years he decided to give up the world of the gigging musician and take up a teaching career. In recent years he's been gigging again and he now leads his quartet on Transitions, a collection of his original compositions recorded at Artesuono Studios in Italy. It's an inventive, good- humored album full of warmth and humanity, a welcome return to the scene for Costello ...
read moreShilpa Ray: Door Girl
Singer-songwriter Shilpa Ray brings her signature pitch black humor and intelligent phraseology to the dozen tunes on her 2017 Door Girl. Most of the music bears hints of retro, 1950s, effervescent rock which contrasts with Ray's mordant poetry and her eerie, expressive keyboards with poignancy and to dramatic effect. The introspective “Morning Terrors Nights of Dread" for instance opens with an up-tempo, deceptively carefree, beat that buoy Ray's plaintive and somber vocals. Over the smooth, airy melody Ray ...
read moreTim Berne: Incidentals
Through three previous releases on ECM, (including the widely hailed 2015 release You've Been Watching Me alto saxophonist Tim Berne's sonic amalgamation Snakeoil has proven itself an often knotty and dissonant band of free creators, making them the perfect vehicle for Berne's often knotty and dissonant musical ideas.But it's mind boggling on many levels how these guys--clarinetist Oscar Noriega, relative newcomer guitarist Ryan Ferreira, pianist and electronicist Matt Mitchell, drummer/percussionist Ches Smith, and producer/guitarist David Torn--sustain the creative, ...
read moreSmart Film Scoring and Saving Same - An Interview with Jane Saunders
A rising star in the competitive world of film and media scoring, Jane Saunders brings unique perspectives and insights to her work. A classically trained flautist, guitarist and composer, Heavy Metal road warrior--and more--Saunders has drawn on her diverse musical background and has made a recognized name for herself through her film work for the Richmond City Media Group, et al. She is also seen as being a Director's dream as the go-to film scoring “fixer" for film projects in ...
read moreAutumn 2017
Jazz Journal is a regular column consisting of pithy takes on recent jazz releases of note as well as spotlights on those titles in the genre that might otherwise go unnoticed under the cultural radar. Jim Yanda Trio Regional Cookin' Corner Store Jazz2017 There's an uncanny similarity between the guitar tone of Jim Yanda on his latest releases and that which the late Larry Coryell employed on his groundbreaking jazz rock ...
read moreThe Delmark Sound: Jason Stein Quartet and Corey Dennison Band
Delmark Records has been a jny: Chicago institution for better than 60 years, most under the watchful eye of founder Bob Koester. The label remains the oldest jazz and blues record label operating in the United States. Like its fabled successor, ECM, the label sports a sonic world all its own. While an odd comparison, any jazz enthusiast breathing air recognizes and understands the “ECM Sound." Demark has a similar distinctive sound. No, it is not that light and vaporous ...
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